Ex-guest worker in Saipan says construction jobs available in PH

A former guest worker in Saipan tells Filipino workers there that construction jobs are available back home.

SAN FRANCISCO — A former guest worker advocate in Saipan advised Filipino construction workers on the island that their skills are also needed in the Philippines, as he voiced concern that some Filipino guest workers have been hired for non-existing construction jobs on the island.

Jun Concillado left the island in 2012 and is now a contractor. He was visiting family members and told MVariety.com, “The construction business is booming in the Philippines, and there is a great demand for workers.”

The former vice president of the United Workers Movement-NMI, Concillado said he was sad to learn that long-term guest workers in Saipan have not been granted improved immigration status.

He said that instead of being unemployed in a foreign land, Filipino workers should just return to the Philippines and get a job in the construction industry.

His Projomal Trading, Concillado said, has declined some projects “because we cannot handle them due to lack of manpower.”

However, another former guest worker advocate, Ronnie Doca, said he wouldn’t advise Filipino guest workers to go home yet “because they have several other factors to consider, especially their families.”

The minimum wage in Manila is $1.23 per hour. In the CNMI it is $6.55. But Doca said guest workers who no longer have legal immigration status must comply with the law and leave the CNMI.